An excerpt from President Obama's State of the Union address delivered on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014.

Obama: 'Climate change is a fact'

By BYRON TAU

01/28/2014 09:30 PM EST

President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to tackle climate change — calling it a "fact"

"Climate change is a fact. And when our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did," Obama told a joint session of Congress.

Obama also launched into a broader defense of his energy policy — especially his clean energy programs.

"Taken together, our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet. Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth. But we have to act with more urgency – because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought, and coastal cities dealing with floods. That’s why I directed my administration to work with states, utilities, and others to set new standards on the amount of carbon pollution our power plants are allowed to dump into the air. The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way. But the debate is settled."